A new study by financial wellness company called Payoff, revealed that the financial stress that many Americans feel has strong similarities to post traumatic stress disorder. Apparently, many Americans prefer to remain in denial and avoid dealing with the weight of their debt. By doing so, these individuals experience anxieties that match up to other diagnosable mental health conditions. This should definitely be a factor that the government and financial institutions take into consideration when providing loans and other consumer facing products.

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Considering the state of America’s money, however, maybe the surprising thing is that this issue hasn’t come up more often. The folks at Payoff point to stagnant incomes, nonexistent savings, high debt levels and financial ordeals such as defaults and evictions. ”These findings should trigger alarm bells for our society to address the challenges with debt millions are facing,” said Scott Saunders, founder and CEO of Payoff, in a press release.